About 1 yr ago, a new roommate(NC State student) moved in my apartment. I didn't force him to sign the lease before moving in but he was willing to do so and I believed him. Later he kept on refusing to sign it. Due to this and some other problems I asked him to move out a few months back. He has been interning outside the state for the past few months. About 2 weeks ago he told me he was moving out on the same day. But he hasn't moved out yet and didn't pay Sept's rent. His room is locked and I am unable to move in a new tenant. I went to student legal services but they said they cannot send him a notice as this was a dispute between two students. I have contacted the landlord about this matter so that I can get the keys to his room. Any suggestions what else I could do to get back the rent money and clear the room? Is there any office in the University that deals with these kind of issues?

9/13/2013 8:51:23 PM

this is why you have a lease. lesson learned, dude.

9/13/2013 8:56:43 PM

kick in his door and pawn all his stuff

9/13/2013 8:59:48 PM

do ^ and toss some of the common area stuff around, act like someone broke in while you were gone

then be all like "WELL since your door was open..."

9/13/2013 9:00:53 PM

I agree, lesson learned. Other stuff sounds fun but complicated

9/13/2013 9:05:43 PM

You came to chit chat for advice

9/13/2013 9:08:33 PM

Is there one for advice? I wasn't sure about the purpose of Lounge and chit chat, so I came to chit chat

9/13/2013 9:18:56 PM

Soap Box ----->

9/13/2013 9:22:55 PM

9/13/2013 9:23:52 PM

Get key. Drag stuff out. Do whatever you want with it. Get new roommate.

9/13/2013 9:41:57 PM

9/13/2013 9:49:00 PM

Wow I read your name as ambrosia

9/13/2013 9:51:49 PM

Do you have a security deposit?

Either way, take 'em to small claims court. Will be a good experience for you.

Also, what happened to ambrosia? I can't remember

[Edited on September 13, 2013 at 9:58 PM. Reason : K]

9/13/2013 9:58:01 PM

she moved to hell

9/13/2013 10:02:04 PM

Thanks for the suggestion about small claims court. The student legal services told me I cannot take this to small claims court until he comes back to NC

9/13/2013 10:02:24 PM

since he doesn't have a lease, it's your room, not his. Get in there and inform him that his shit will be on the curb should he want to come get it before the hobos do.

9/13/2013 10:02:38 PM

There is a shared refrigerator near my lab where it is written in bold letters "Stealing Food is a violation of student code of conduct". So what my roommate has done is nothing less than theft and should also be a violation of student code of conduct.

9/13/2013 10:04:37 PM

http://www.lawhelpnc.org/resource/proper-notice-of-evictionvacate

give 10 days notice

9/13/2013 10:09:25 PM

there is no lease agreement

9/13/2013 10:11:00 PM

^ verbals count in NC if I recall.

Send him a letter.

Pop the door. No harm in that.

Throw his stuff out after 10 days.

9/13/2013 10:28:39 PM

^Read near the bottom of the link above. Send him a text to his phone or email letting him know he's got 10 days to gtfo for nonpayment of monthly rent or to "let you know if he needs his stuff.". All you need is a response back which would be enough to acknowledge that he received your notice.

9/13/2013 10:30:25 PM

Most of the people in this thread have no idea what they are talking about. Adding this dude to the lease wouldn't have helped anything because the lease almost certainly has a "jointly and severally liable" clause. You also can't just lock a roommate out because they stopped paying rent (what is often referred to as a self-help eviction) even if there is no written lease, you have to go through the proper procedure in small claims court and get a writ of possession.

9/13/2013 10:54:43 PM

yeah so go ahead and start the 10 day counter today

9/13/2013 10:57:08 PM

Yeah lease or not he established occupancy by moving his possessions in and (presumably) changing his address/having mail sent there.

You can't just throw someone (and their stuff) out on the street (this includes jilted lovers).

9/13/2013 11:01:15 PM

I don't know what I'm talking about here, but does this fact change anything about the 10 day eviction notice?

Quote :

"About 2 weeks ago he told me he was moving out on the same day."

9/13/2013 11:03:21 PM

Also, I'm not encouraging anything, but it's probably not a bad idea to "obtain" some personal information about him (parents address, name/address of employer, etc) while you still can in case he just completely skips out on you. This will help you in the "discovery" and service phase of the small claims court stuff. If you know nothing about the dude it's going to be a lot harder.

9/13/2013 11:04:31 PM

^billytalent confirmed

9/13/2013 11:25:13 PM

You have to go to court and file an eviction to legally get him out, that is unless the property has been abandoned. Try poking around and see if you can put a notice on the door claiming the property has been abandoned and you intend to take possession of it if he does not contact you within however many days is legal for that.

9/14/2013 1:08:48 AM

http://www.ncbar.gov/lamp/2004%20CLE/NC%20Landlord%20Tenant.PDF

9/14/2013 1:09:41 AM

Everything posted so far deals with landlord/tenant leases (be they verbal or written). It sounds like the person has never even had any interaction with the actual landlord, so there wouldn't even be a verbal lease. So, does the original tenant even have the right to make sublease in this case, aka would the person being kicked out even be considered a tenant?

also, it seems like the actual landlord wouldn't care what happens in this instance, he's getting his money either way.

9/14/2013 11:46:25 AM

There is no lease agreement. Pick the lock. Have the landlord change all the locks on the main doors. Sell all their stuff on Craigslist to pay his back "rent".

If this person ever contacts you ignore them. If they ever brought anything to court they wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

Lease out the room to a reliable tenant with with an actual lease agreement and background check or just move somewhere else...profit.

9/14/2013 12:11:54 PM

What kind of lock is on this door? Grab a bobby pin, get that door open and get his shit out.

9/14/2013 12:18:44 PM

This person is essentially a guest that refused to leave and has been essentially trespassing. Not only has the guest refused to leave but they have screwed you.

You shouldn't even refer to them as a roommate. They don't have a lease agreement with the landlord, you do.

You really have nothing to worry about whatsoever. The only thing that would remotely concern me would be if this person is a former friend of yours or you both share mutual acquaintances.

If its some random person who has screwed you over follow my advice above ^^ and forge ahead.

[Edited on September 14, 2013 at 12:29 PM. Reason : ]

9/14/2013 12:23:20 PM

Quote :

"Also, what happened to ambrosia? I can't remember"

Quote :

"she moved to hell"

That's really uncalled for.

message_topic.aspx?topic=604087

9/14/2013 12:39:49 PM

That's terrible advice ^^

9/14/2013 12:55:00 PM

Best angle is property abandonment. Anything else you have to file eviction to get them out. It does not matter if they are on the lease.

9/14/2013 3:11:39 PM

Can you file an eviction notice if youre not a landlord though?...alot of leases have language that says tenants cant sublease.

9/14/2013 5:20:25 PM

He is a landlord if he was collecting rent for a year while the dude was living there. The owner or management company of the apartment complex could sue the OP for breaching his lease if they wanted to (assuming there is a provision in the lease prohibiting subleasing), but it doesn't negate that his roommate is a tenant.

9/14/2013 5:44:37 PM

You can file an eviction against your girlfriend if you want to. The police can not throw someone out who has established residence inside a property without a court order, so the courts have to hear it if you file it properly.

9/15/2013 1:43:19 PM

http://www.rentalcompliance.org/portals/3/media/compliance/sample%20abandonment%20notice.pdf

9/15/2013 3:03:44 PM